Letter from the Central Committee of the R.S.D.L.P. toThe Administration of the League Abroad, the Party Aid Groups, and to All Party Members Abroad

Written:Written in the early part of December 1903Published:First published in 1928 inLenin Miscellany VII.

      Published according to the manuscript.Source:Lenin
	  Collected Works,

      publisher??,pubdate??,

      Moscow,Volume 7,

      pages126-129.Translated:Fineberg AbrahamTranscription\Markup:R. CymbalaandD. WaltersCopyleft:V. I. Lenin Internet Archive (www.marxists.org)
      © 2002

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Thefinal unification of the Party now makes it essential and urgent
      to develop on a wide scale the activities conduct ed by the
      Social-Democrats abroad and firmly unite the efforts of all working in
      this field.

Underthe Party Rules (Paragraph 13), all Party work abroad is
      divided into two major spheres, organised on different lines. On
      the one hand, propaganda and agitation activities abroad are
      under the direct charge of the League Abroad and are
      concentrated in its hands. The Central Committee will take all
      measures to facilitate the complete centralisation of this work
      in the hands of the League and to assure it autonomy in the
      exercise of this function. On the other hand, assistance by the
      League to the movement in Russia is rendered only through
      persons and groups specially appointed for the purpose by the
      Central Committee.

Whilecalling upon all members of the League, all aid groups and all
      Party members abroad to give the League the utmost support in its work
      of propaganda and agitation, the Central Committee intends now to
      focus its efforts on the organisation of these intermediate groups
      through which assistance to the movement in Russia should be rendered.

TheCentral Committee considers its tasks in this field to be as
      follows.

Assistanceto the Russian movement from abroad will chiefly take the
      form of 1) dispatching revolutionary workers to Russia; 2) dispatching
      to Russia funds collected abroad; 3) gathering abroad such Russian
      contacts, items of news, and information as need to be communicated
      speedily to Russia with a view to aiding the comrades active there,
      preventing discovery and arrest, etc.; 4) dispatching literature to
      Russia, etc.

Whilenot claiming that this is an exhaustive list of all forms of
      direct assistance to the Russian movement from abroad, we think,
      however, that it is sufficient for the time being to outline the chief
      forms and adapt the organisation we are creating to these. Experience
      will show how far this organisation will need to be modified in the
      future.

Tobegin with the matter of dispatching people for work in
      Russia. It would, of course, be desirable for most comrades
      going there to contact directly the Central Committee’s chief
      agency abroad—in Geneva—and secure from it
      addresses, passwords, funds and the necessary instructions. But
      many of the people going will naturally not be able to come to
      Geneva, and the Central Committee therefore intends to appoint
      its agents in all foreign centres of any importance: London,
      Paris, Brussels, Berlin, Vienna, and others. Every person
      intending to leave for work in Russia is invited to apply to the
      local agent of the Central Committee, who will take all measures
      to enable him to reach his destination with maximum speed and
      safety and to co-ordinate his first steps with the Central
      Committee’s general plan of allocation of forces and funds,
      etc. The Central Committee hopes that the League Abroad will
      render these Central Committee agents every assistance—for
      example, by acquainting as many as possible of
      our people abroad with the functions of these agents and the
      conditions for contacting them, by helping to arrange for
      maximum secrecy of these contacts, etc.

Sincethe dispatch of people to Russia from large foreign centres is a
      very big job, and since one person may not always be able to acquaint
      himself adequately with those being dispatched, the Central Committee
      will, where required, appoint not one agent, but .a group of agents,
      in accordance with Paragraph 13 of the Party Rules.

Further,as regards the dispatch of funds, the most desirable
      arrangement is for the collection of funds anywhere abroad to be
      completely concentrated in the hands of the League and for the
      Administration of the League to pass them over to the Central
      Committee. Only in urgent cases may we be obliged, as experience
      suggests, to have certain sums handed over directly by local
      sections of the League to local agents of the Central Committee,
      as when pressure of circumstances requires immediate aid in
      effecting an escape, in dispatching a person or literature,
      etc. The Central Committee hopes that the Administration of the
      League will give appropriate instructions to the sections and
      will devise the most suitable forms of accounting for sums
      collected and expended.

Next,it is common knowledge, of course, that persons arriving
      abroad from Russia very often communicate information which
      would be of the utmost importance to those working in Russia,
      as, for example, about the extent of arrests, the need to warn
      comrades in places remote from the scene of an arrest, the need
      to utilise contacts in Russia which the comrade escaping or
      otherwise leaving had no time or opportunity to utilise, etc. Of
      course, in proportion as all the Party work comes under the
      direction of the Central Committee, it will become increasingly
      possible to gather all such contacts and information in Russia
      itself, which is the only normal and desirable thing. But there
      is no doubt that for a long time yet there will be cases when
      comrades escaping from or legally leaving Russia will not
      manage, for one reason or another, to pass on their contacts in
      Russia, so that this will have to be done after they arrive
      abroad.

Lastly,the Central Committee will, of course, endeavour to
      concentrate the transport of literature as completely as
      possible in the bands of a special transport group, some of
      whose members will be abroad all the time. Special Central
      Committee agents will therefore be appointed to manage the Party
      literature depots in various foreign centres, to maintain
      communication with the frontiers, etc. But how ever efficiently
      the business of transport is organised, there will always, of
      course, be gaps which will have to be filled by seizing such
      chances as may present themselves,by (perhaps) dispatching suitcases,. utilising opportunities which may
      be offered by commercial or shipping arrangements, etc. All
      communications and items of information bearing on such matters should
      likewise be addressed to the Central Committee agents, with whom all
      such matters will be concentrated and who will act in accordance with
      the Central Committee’s general plan and instructions.

Ininforming the League Administration of its plan of work, the
      Central Committee expresses its confidence that the League for its
      part will render every assistance to the Central Committee agents
      abroad, and in particular will take steps to enable these agents to
      acquaint themselves widely with the aid groups, youth circles, etc.,
      etc.